Arrowtown - Queenstown

In 1862, the first gold was found near Arrowtown by a sheep shearer at the Arrow River. This news spread quickly throughout the country, and the population of Arrowtown rose to 1,500 people within a few weeks. By around 1870, many Chinese arrived in the area but had to live outside the settlement due to numerous conflicts with the 'whites,' leading to the formation of the Chinese Village. Over time, the stone and mud-brick huts of the Chinese Village have fallen into disrepair, but some huts have been rebuilt or restored in recent years and can be visited. It’s incredible to see how small the huts were where the Chinese lived back then.

After all I had heard or read about Queenstown beforehand, I was amazed at how much I enjoyed my time there. Right after my arrival, I went for a hike up Queenstown Hill, from where I had a beautiful view, and after descending, I was surprised at how lively the town was in the evening. Normally, in New Zealand, the streets are rolled up by 5:30 PM at the latest. A clear indication that Queenstown is indeed a tourist town.

I watched a street performer who, with the help of a spectator, worked towards the finale for more than 20 minutes: he balanced on a platform on a roll, which was on another platform, while juggling flaming torches. Some of the jokes were quite flat, and ultimately, the show could have been significantly shortened. However, there were many children in the audience who were also meant to have something to laugh at, and the surrounding program created some excitement.

Ultimately, he of course achieved his goal, jumped down from the platform with a loud bang, and extinguished the flaming torches with his mouth. And then there was of course huge applause and a decent amount of tips :) During the sunset, I listened to a pianist playing his self-composed pieces before heading back to the car.

The next morning, I took a quick dip in the ice-cold Lake Wakatipu and then just strolled around the city a bit. In Queenstown, there’s something for everyone: you can ride the gondola, paraglide, indoor skydive, zip-line, mountain bike, go on a summer toboggan run, bungee jump,... I hiked on the Tiki Trail to the gondola station, took a look at Queenstown from above, and then continued up the Ben Lomond Track a bit further until I left the hustle and bustle and all the people behind me. There, I sat down on the grass, enjoyed the sun warming me, and took in the view of the town and Lake Wakatipu.

In the evening, like a typical tourist, I stood in the eternally long line at Fergburger for 20 minutes, and after ordering, waited another 25 minutes for my burger, which I then took to the promenade. I watched the street performer again with his program and knew this time what joke would come next before I listened to the pianist play for a while again. Since 95% of the audience is different the next day anyway, it’s fine to perform the same program every night.